Blaga Dimitrova (1922–2003) was not only one of Bulgaria’s most loved and celebrated writers — the author of many collections of poetry as well as novels, plays, and essays — but also an important figure in her nation’s political life, becoming the first vice president of Bulgaria after the fall of the Communist government. These two poems are translated by Ludmilla G. Popova-Wightman from Scars: Poems of Blaga Dimitrova, published by Ivy Press, Princeton, NJ, and are reprinted by permission.